Derrick Rose picked up his MVP trophy from NBA Commissioner David Stern prior to this one. He's looking every bit like one through the first 12 minutes in Game 2 of the Chicago Bulls' Eastern Conference matchup against the Atlanta Hawks.
Rose has 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field to post the Bulls to a 25-19 edge over the Hawks at the United Center on Wednesday.
Joakim Noah has six points and Keith Bogans added three for Chicago, which shot 39-percent (9-for-23) from the field in the first quarter.
Atlanta on the other hand did what they do worst: settled for ill-advised, poorly timed jump shots from players who need to be crashing the paint instead. The result was a 10-2 Bulls run to end the frame.
The Bulls made an adjustment on the Hawks, who had no problem draining the long-range jumper in Game 1. Atlanta's had difficulties with the long ball, shot just 31-percent (8-for-26) in the frame and did not nail a three.
How bad were things for the Hawks in the quarter? Josh Smith was 0-for-4. At least two of those shots were jumpers he should never take.
Only Joe Johnson and Jeff Teague have more than two points. Johnson netted five. Teague four.
Marvin Williams blew an easy transition layup when he was 1-on-1 with Luol Deng after a Bulls turnover.
Chicago came out of the gate in this one strong. Atlanta needs to match their energy and take smart shots if they want to steal another one in the Windy City. Otherwise, it's going to be a long night for the road team in this one.